The “Ikea” Effect
The “IKEA Effect”, which is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created. This idea can be seen when consumers purchase IKEA furniture where they have to assemble it themselves, in LEGO sets, and folding origami. Although the consumers are not actually making the wood legs for a table or the plastic blocks for a LEGO set, completing tasks yourself can be very satisfying. This, in turn, causes people to overvalue the product (relative to what others would pay for it if it was purchased fully assembled.
Contribution from Graham Sands (University of Arizona).